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Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa, United States.〔 It has a population totaling 9,464 people according to the 2010 census.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Population & Housing Occupancy Status 2010 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Data from the 2010 Census )〕 It is a Midwestern city surrounded by rolling farmlands filled with corn, soybean, cattle, and hogs with a median family income of $46,138 (10% of families below the poverty line). The city became the county seat in 1839 with 110 residents and grew to 650 by 1847. Its library was established in 1853, and it held its first fair in 1854. Early architecture includes work by George Franklin Barber and Barry Byrne, who trained under Frank Lloyd Wright. The city has an “abundance of start-up companies” and has been called "one of the state's economic superstars." It has received The Grassroots Rural Entrepreneurship Award, been nicknamed “silicorn valley,” and was featured in a 2012 episode of the TV show, ''Oprah's Next Chapter''. It has been the home of Maharishi University of Management (formerly Maharishi International University) since 1974 and has been referred to as "the world's largest training center" for practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique. The city includes the $6 million Fairfield Arts & Convention Center (FACC), built in 2007. In 2010, it was named one of six Iowa Great Places. It was named by Smithsonian magazine as one of "The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2013." The city has 12 public parks and recreation areas consisting of more than 1,300 acres and is governed by a seven-member city council. The Fairfield Community School District is home to nearly 2,500 students, teachers, administrators, and staff, with three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The city has two private schools, Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment and Cornerstone Primary School. Fairfield has its own municipal airport, several radio stations, a local public-access television station, and a daily newspaper. ==History== The area now known as Jefferson County was first settled in 1836, and became Jefferson County in 1839, with the new community of Fairfield as the county seat. The name was suggested by Nancy Bonnifield, one of the settlers, because it aptly described the fair fields of the area. But also author Susan Welty suggests it was a play of words on her own name (bonny field).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Fairfield (2011) )〕 By 1840, Fairfield had a population of 110 and grew to 650 in 1847.〔(Fairfield, Iowa: Community Quick Reference )〕 The city was the site of the first and second Iowa State Fairs. Fairfield's library was established in 1853, and was the first library in the state of Iowa. It was first housed in a rented room off the city square. Fairfield's library became the first Carnegie Library outside of Pennsylvania or Scotland〔(Early Carnegie Libraries - First in the World )〕 funded by Andrew Carnegie, who donated $40,000 to build the library. The Carnegie building on the corner of Washington and Court streets became the library's home on November 28, 1893. Then in May 1996, the library moved to its present location on West Adams Street. The library has over 220,000 items and received accreditation from the State Library of Iowa in 2009.〔(Fairfield Public Library at City web site )〕〔Fairfield Weekly Reader, September 16, 2009, pg 1〕 The first fair was held October 25–27, 1854 on of land surrounded by a fence. The total cost to hold the fair was around $320, and public admission was 25 cents per person. It is estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 fair goers attended this historical event.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Iowa State Fair )〕 Parsons College was founded in 1875.〔 In 1893 the Carnegie Library was completed, the first west of the Mississippi.〔p. 87〕 During the time leading up to the American Civil War, Fairfield was a stopping point for the Underground Railroad. Ultimately, over 1,600 residents of Jefferson County served in the Union Army.〔pp 106-108〕 Early architecture in Fairfield includes Victorian houses designed by George Franklin Barber as well a 1915 house designed by Barry Byrne, who trained under Frank Lloyd Wright.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Dr. James Frederic Clarke House )〕 A 1930s bank building was designed in the Streamline Moderne style. Commercial and institutional architecture were influenced by the Louden Industries, including the Louden Foundry. Fairfield is the site of the prototype Carnegie library. In 1892 Senator, James F. Wilson met with Andrew Carnegie and secured a grant to build the first community-based library in the U.S. This served as the model for 2,700 libraries worldwide. Parsons College later received a grant to build a Carnegie Library. Fairfield became one of the few cities that had two Carnegie Libraries. The Richardsonian Romanesque work is now operated by Indian Hills Community College as a satellite campus building, as a new library was built in 1996.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Iowa Carnegie Public Libraries )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fairfield, Iowa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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